Customer data is the goldmine for businesses. Companies collect large amounts of consumer data as it helps them make better decisions and efficient strategies to increase sales and ROI. According to surveys, around 49% of businesses believe that customer data helps them to make better decisions, and 16% say that this data helps them to enable key strategic initiatives.  In the era where technological advancements happen now and then, data protection has become an essential part of all business strategies. With the evolution of technology, data breaches have become more advanced and heavily impactful.  The global data security landscape has witnessed an unprecedented increase in cyber threats in recent years. It has become easier for them to use phishing and social engineering attacks to infiltrate networks and spread malware and ransomware. By stealing personal information, tricking employees into divulging their credentials, or clicking infected links or attachments, cybercriminals can gain access to work laptops. Once infiltrated, it can easily infect an entire network. There has been a 125% increase in cyber attacks globally through 2021, with the increasing numbers continuing to threaten businesses and individuals in the forthcoming years.

Why must customer data be protected?

Protecting customer data is important for one reason. Your business depends on it. If companies don't take steps to protect customer data, they become vulnerable to hacking, which can lead to loss of consumer confidence, impact business reputation, and more.Certain laws mandate the protection of consumer information, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). In India, the Information Technology Act 2000 is the primary law in India for matters that relate to e-commerce and cybercrime.  Even if you don't have a physical place of business in a state or country with data protection laws in place, you may still be subject to penalties if you obtain data from citizens living in that area. 

4 ways businesses can protect consumer data

We have listed down four ways in which big organizations can ensure to protect their consumer data at all times:

Encryption

Encryption is the lock and key for protecting consumer data. Make sure all sensitive data is encrypted regardless of where it is stored or transmitted. Methods of encrypting connections include Virtual Private Network (VPN), Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), or Transport Layer Security (TLS). A VPN service can help you hide your IP address and protect your online activities. An example of this is an SSL certificate that encrypts personal data when processing payments. This helps protect consumer privacy, especially if your business uses third-party applications to process transactions. 

Restricted access

Not all employees need access to every nook and cranny of the business. Give each employee only the access that is necessary for their position. The same applies to internal networks. Use firewall protection to block them internally from each other. This makes it harder for cybercriminals to devastate your business.

Keep plugins and software up-to-date

Hackers are well-aware that non-updated and out-of-date softwares and plugins are the easiest to hack. It is important to keep your software up-to-date to avoid any hacking or cyberattack. While many devices and applications offer automatic updates, sometimes operating system updates make a device unusable for a couple of minutes, which can extend to hours, and have to be manually launched after download. If you use plugins, make sure they are always updated to mitigate vulnerabilities and protect consumer data from hackers.

Password management tools

By using password management tools, you can improve cybersecurity and reduce the risk of hacking. These tools create and store complex passwords for all the tools and software your team uses. Complex passwords are usually difficult for users to remember and are not used by users. Password managers make this much easier by storing all your passwords encrypted. This way, if someone needs to log in to the tool, they can easily get the credentials from the password of their manager

Final thoughts

Your customers entrust you with their most sensitive information, from credit cards to social security information. It is organization’s responsibility to keep it safe. As we move into the era of data protection by design and default, every business must implement security plans to protect data from internal and external threats.

When it comes to building a loyal consumer base, the most significant thing to achieve is trust. This is one of the key elements that play a role in sustaining a successful business. This trust can be earned by being transparent in your approach and leveraging the same transparency in your marketing strategy as well. Brands need to present themselves as credible, real, and authentic in their digital strategy and the only way to do this is by leveraging transparency. Let’s dive deeper into this and explore the need for being transparent in digital marketing.

Impact on Business Growth

Transparent communication has a significant impact on business growth.  In fact, research shows that transparency can increase sales by 20%. This can be because people want to buy from people and not corporations and being transparent about your human side and being vulnerable about your imperfections can be a great way to appear like a human as opposed to a corporation. Moreover, this can also lead to an increase in your loyal follower base and nudge people to buy from your brand repeatedly. In other words, transparent communication can bolster profits and lead to economic stability & long-term sustainability through brand loyalty & repeat business from satisfied customers.

Consumer Expectations

Consumers have reasonable expectations from brands to be transparent in their communication. In fact, 81% of people believe that businesses have a responsibility to be transparent when posting on social media, and 85% of people say a history of being transparent makes them more likely to give the brand a second chance. This means that consumers expect brands to own up to blunders and are even willing to forgive them if need be. It has been said time and again that people want to see a more human side of brands and owning up to mistakes and presenting a transparent image is the way to do that. However, being transparent is not limited to owning up to mistakes. You also need to be transparent about day-to-day practices, especially when it comes to the usage of sensitive information and data. 84% of consumers have agreed that they will take their business elsewhere if they don't trust how a company is handling their data. This means that consumers are concerned about how their data is being utilized and there has to be clear communication when it comes to these sensitive aspects.

Why Transparency is Important in Business?

 Aside from fulfilling consumer expectations, transparent digital marketing practices also shed numerous benefits for the brands.  Perhaps the most significant one of these benefits is that brand transparency creates trust & loyalty amongst consumers, giving them the confidence to buy from brands without worries. Moreover, this can also have a direct impact on business growth by giving employees & partners reasons to feel engaged, committed & accountable to the company. Transparency as a core value is critical during difficult times, as it places total ownership & accountability in the hands of the business.

Transparency through communication

From the perspective of digital marketing, it can be alluring to capitalize on any new business prospects, however in some cases, this can lead to secrecy and deceit at the expense of the consumer and this needs to be avoided at all costs. The most effective way to do this is by ensuring that brand communication is honest, authentic & straightforward. Your communication should directly reach out to your consumers and share all that needs to be shared without any attempt of concealing or manipulating information. Aside from this, it is important for brands to be proactive on social media and talk to consumers, offering relevant information & responding to queries and feedback. This helps consumers realize that they are not all by themselves once they’ve made a purchase and strengthens the bond they share with the brand, ultimately making them a loyalist. Brands need to understand the value of raw, unfiltered feedback and provide the consumers with a platform to effectively share their feedback.

 Strike a Balance

It can be overwhelming to strike a balance between secrecy and oversharing. However, with the following few tips, brands can ensure that their digital marketing strategy is transparent enough and provides the consumers with the kind of assurance that keeps them coming back to the brand. The most significant thing to do here is to strike the right behavioral balance in your brand persona to build trust with the target market. This means that the communication should not just be authentic but also in line with the brand image so that it is in sync with the expectations of your target audience. Aside from this, brands also need to re-evaluate and structure the accessibility & connectedness of the brand to widen the scope of the communication. Another highly effective tip is to be sensitive towards the nature of the medium that is being utilized and understand the dynamics of different mediums. This might give rise to the need to tweak conversations between brand & customers to suit the nature of the platform. To conclude, a straightforward answer to the question of trust when it comes to consumers is to embed transparency into every part of your marketing and advertising ecosystem. After all, fraudulent ad placement or marketing tactics that don’t seem human won’t be impactful. Download the PDF version